Beck's... American Beer

Anyone else realize that Beck's Beer is now a "Product of USA?" Yeah, it seems to have stopped being a product of Germany in the past month or so. At least here. Tastes different as well. I think it is rather sneaky marketing. I mean, it is still better than, say, Budweiser or Miller Lite, but, seriously, when I purchase a German beer, I would kinda like it to be made in Germany under German beer purity laws, whatever they are called, and not "made in the German style" or whatever they have on the label now. I mean, I buy American whenever I can, but I just kinda feel ripped off by this. I prefer my motorcycles made in Milwaukee (OK, I'll accept York) and my Beer made in Northern Europe and I'm not fond of the deception.

Made in St. Louis since early 2012. Booooo.

That same strategy didn't work to well for Lowenbrau. Has the price of Becks dropped?

Please, please don't mess with St. Pauli Girl.

914Driver wrote: Please, please don't mess with St. Pauli Girl.

Actually, I'd kinda like to mess with her. (Shhh! Don't tell the wife!)

The price did not drop. It did not slightly rise like Heineken did (still has to come from almost the same region and from the same currency), but my observations at Sam's is < $1 difference on a 12 pack.

I will stick with the Grolsch

Beck's was probably my preferred German beer. Certainly better than that wretched Heineken. Am I a freak, or is Sam Adams cranking out some good beer? I think I've developed a fondness for their Cherry Wheat.

pilotbraden wrote: I will stick with the Grolsch

Mmmmmmmm GROLSCH.

You guys need to get over to the beer topic and get some beer advice from Salanis. You can get a lot better beer for your dollar. (I do like that SA Cherry Wheat though).

914Driver wrote: Please, please don't mess with St. Pauli Girl.

Too late. She used to be a redhead.

Beck's? Yick.

Beck's = German "Bud". Mass market swill for people who don't give a crap. It really doesn't matter where it's brewed.

Why would you buy German garbage in the first place when the best beers in the world are being made here in the states? No offense. Now is a good time to broaden your horizons.

OK, so what "good" American beer, made from nothing but malted barley, water, hops and yeast, is sold at Sam's Club liquor stores or Walmart for a reasonable price?

Ugh, Sam's Club's website is crap. I had to wade through a lot of maco-piss to find what I was looking for.

Apparently they stock Fat Tire, which I don't think I've ever had, but is well respected. Or was at one point.

They stock Sam Adams, which is a good gateway brew. Lots of options there, including many that would match your purity law requirements, if Sammy cared to advertise it. Also, Jim Koch majorly helped out small breweries back during the hop crunch. I respect the hell out of him for that.

They also carry Sierra Nevada. Another a good gateway brew.

And finally Yuengling. You should try it at least once, but I'm not a fan.

Honestly, the Sam's Club and Walmart limit is going to be hard to pull off. Most "excellent" American beer isn't going to be big enough to get the attention of Walmart. And frankly, that's a good thing. Small breweries have enough trouble as-is, getting screwed by the Waltons isn't something I'd wish upon them.

(I'm a former small-brewery worker bee)

peter wrote: They also carry Sierra Nevada. Another a good gateway brew.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is awesome, it's a great "all around" beer, not as hard to adjust to as some of the micro brews but still has a ton of flavor and is well made. They also have Torpedo IPA which is stronger and more bitter, and their Summer Fest (I think it is) is a nice light and refreshing beer. (meaning 5%, not so strong as the pale ale, but not like an actual "lite beer.")

Dr. Hess wrote: OK, so what "good" American beer, made from nothing but malted barley, water, hops and yeast, is sold at Sam's Club liquor stores or Walmart for a reasonable price?

No Sams/Walmart carries beer here in PA but when I was racing at Summit Point, WV I bought some in the Super Walmart there. They had Pilsner Urquell which is a good stand-in for Becks. They had Widmer Bros and Long Hammer IPA too.

I'll look for some of those next time I'm on a B - double E - double R - U - N at Sam's/Wally World. Sam's recently re-did their modular so they can carry a lot more of the off-brand / small brewery stuff. I've tried some Sam Adams, but there's like 10K different ones and they change all the time. How am I supposed to know which ones are, you know, actual BEER and not full of weird stuff like wheat, or (horror...) rice?

Dr. Hess wrote: How am I supposed to know which ones are, you know, actual BEER and not full of weird stuff like wheat, or (horror...) rice?

Look at the label?

Not at all impressed with Fat Tire. Yick.

Curmudgeon wrote: Not at all impressed with Fat Tire. Yick.

Yeah, someone talked me into trying it. Actually not a hard thing to do. But I did not like the fat tire.

ST_ZX2 wrote: Made in St. Louis since early 2012. Booooo.

Best beer out of St. Louis:

^Love their stuff, wish we could get it in OK.

1988RedT2 wrote: Beck's was probably my preferred German beer. Certainly better than that wretched Heineken. Am I a freak, or is Sam Adams cranking out some good beer? I think I've developed a fondness for their Cherry Wheat.

I never liked Becks, but I agree about SA Cherry Wheat. That's my lunch beer most of the time when we go out. I'll probably have one tomorrow. I actually like most of what Sam Adams makes, even the Boston Lager has grown on me. Didn't like the Noble Pils much.

I used to say, "I drink no beer I can see through..." but I seem to be getting more tolerant in my old age...